William Clyde Hardiman III is an American

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was the mayor of

Kentwood, Michigan Kentwood is a city in Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 54,304 as of the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the northwest by Grand Rapids and is the third most-populated municipality in the Grand Rapids metropolitan ...

from 1992 to 2002. He then ran for

Michigan state senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, adopt ...

in 2002 in the 29th district, defeating Steve Pestka, and served from 2003 to 2011, when he retired due to term limits. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress in

Michigan's 3rd congressional district Michigan's 3rd congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in West Michigan. From 2003 to 2013, it consisted of the counties of Barry and Ionia, as well as all except the northwestern portion of Kent, including the city of Grand Ra ...

. In June 2011 he joined the Michigan Department of Human Services, where he focuses on services for veterans. Hardiman is a veteran himself, having served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

in Vietnam during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

as a medic in an artillery unit from 1967 to 1968. He also served with the

Americal Division The Americal Division was an infantry division of the United States Army during World War II and the Vietnam War. The division was activated 27 May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the Un ...

and became a Specialist 5. He has an associate degree from

Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) is a public community college in Grand Rapids, Michigan. History Grand Rapids Junior College was established on September 21, 1914, after University of Michigan faculty passed a resolution encouraging the ...

, a bachelor's degree from Grand Valley State University, and a master's degree in public affairs from

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardiman, Bill Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century African-American people Combat medics Republican Party Michigan state senators Mayors of places in Michigan Grand Valley State University alumni Western Michigan University alumni African-American mayors in Michigan African-American state legislators in Michigan Grand Rapids Community College alumni People from Kentwood, Michigan United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers